Special PE Project:SPN Students Actively Involved in "NFL Play 60" Program

For the past several years, students at Stony Point North have been involved in the “NFL Play 60” program. The are two main components of the NFL Play 60 program. The first is for students to be physically active for at least 60 minutes a day, every day. And the second component is for students to focus on Healthy Eating.

Through our PE activities we have been promoting an increase in our student’s “Physical Activities” with ongoing, continual reminders about students being physically active for at least 60 minutes a day.

A fun and challenging activity for our students has been our "Race Across America" activity. Students are issued pedometers to be used thoughout the entire school year. The use of pedometers help the students monitor the amount of their daily physical activity everyday! Students then realize the importance of being physically active besides PE class and recess times.

Our students also strive to increase their daily physical activities so that each student is physically active for at least 60 minutes a day. Students in grades 3 – 5 will continue wearing pedometers at school and away from school and track their mileage with the goal of each student walking or running a minimum of 100 miles.

To emphasize on the Importance of “Healthy Eating”, students at Stony Point North have been focusing on the importance of “Healthy Eating” through a variety of activities in P.E. classes in all grades from kindergarten through 5th grade.

In the “Healthy Eating” area students will learn about proper nutrition and the “5 Basic Food Groups” from the “My Plate” program. Activities in this area include: student discussions in PE classes about eating more nutritious meals, completing “Healthy Eating” activity worksheets on the “5 Basic Food Groups”, and having allschool “Taste Tests” activities to explore new options of healthy foods to include in their daily meals.

Studies have also shown that students that have better nutrition and an increase in physical activity can help improve academic performance. According to information from “A Healthier Generation” at “a healthier generation.com ”Today about 1 in 3 kids are overweight or obese. And studies show that overweight kids are more likely to become overweight and obese

adults. If obesity among kids continues to increase at this rate, our current students could become the first in American history to live shorter and sicker lives than their parents.”

Consequences of Childhood Obesity: “Obese and overweight children are at risk for a number of serious health problems such as:

1. Diabetes: Type 2 diabetes was once called adult-onset diabetes. Now with the rise in childhood obesity, there is a dramatic rise in the number of children suffering from Type 2 diabetes. Untreated, this is a life-threatening condition.

2. Asthma: Extra weight can make it harder to breathe and can inflame the respiratory tract. There is a rise in childhood asthma and children with serious asthma are more likely to be overweight.

3. Heart Failure: Being overweight makes the heart work harder. Overweight children are more likely to grow up to be overweight adults who develop heart problems.”